


oh dear (i don't wanna be a burden)

by periwinkleparagraphs



Category: Magia Record: Puella Magi Madoka Magica Side Story
Genre: Angst, Anxiety, Gen, No beta we witch out like sayaka, Panic Attacks, potential spoilers if you haven't played the game, tsuruno yui needs a hug
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-18
Updated: 2021-02-18
Packaged: 2021-03-15 03:41:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,040
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29307468
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/periwinkleparagraphs/pseuds/periwinkleparagraphs
Summary: Tsuruno's having a bad day for reasons she can't explain.
Relationships: Futaba Sana & Mitsuki Felicia & Nanami Yachiyo & Tamaki Iroha & Yui Tsuruno
Comments: 4
Kudos: 11





	oh dear (i don't wanna be a burden)

**Author's Note:**

> I’m so sorry tsuruno bb for making you suffer
> 
> I really, really love her and she kinda reminds me of myself so this was a way for me to explore both her character and my own emotions ig? I've been working on this for a while and I'm kinda struggling with the ending so I figured I would split it in half.
> 
> also hngggh i guess this takes place after the first arc? i know very little about the second arc (rip NA) so oop
> 
> (title is from toxic thoughts by faith marie)

When Tsuruno woke up she kinda knew it was going to be a bad day. 

But she couldn’t _ afford _ to have a bad day. There were too many things counting on her - Banbanzai, her perfect attendance record, her friends.

So even though the funny feeling in her stomach wouldn’t go away, she pretended it had. Tsuruno figured if she didn’t think about it, she would eventually convince herself it wasn’t there. 

She went through her morning warm-ups, doing her best to reinvigorate her pep. 

It helped! 

(No it didn’t.)

She washed her face, thinking maybe she wasn’t awake enough.

_ (She felt  _ too _ awake.)  _

Tsuruno scrunched up her nose as she stared at her reflection in the mirror. She was just a little off, that’s all. 

She straightened and placed her hands on her hips, trying to empower herself through her stance. 

“Today’s going to be a good day!” Tsuruno exclaimed. “A mighty day for the mightiest magical girl!” 

Her smile was convincing. Maybe a little too convincing. 

But it was all she needed. 

  
  


*******

It was harder to get through class than usual. 

Tsuruno was a good student - she was very proud of that accomplishment. Yeah, she was a little too loud sometimes - “enthusiastic” the teachers would say; her fellow students preferred “too much” - but she got good grades and didn’t cause too much trouble. 

Well… there were one or two incidents, but she couldn’t help her competitive nature.

The point was that she was attentive. 

But today, her knee wouldn’t stop bouncing. The girl sitting next to her kept on glancing over at her, as if annoyed (she got that look from Yachiyo sometimes). When Tsuruno tried to stop it, the nervous energy just converted to her tapping her pen against the desk - which was even noisier. 

The teacher kept writing notes too quickly for Tsuruno to keep up with and even though she knew the concepts they were learning were fairly easy, nothing was making sense. 

Towards the end of the day, Tsuruno let herself zone out and she ran through a mental list of things she had to get done. First, she was gonna pick Felicia up from her school, then head over to the restaurant. After taking care of business there, they’d probably patrol and then they’d have dinner at Yachiyo’s. Hopefully, she could get in some training with her Master while she was at it. Finally, she’d go home and do her homework (even though it was a Friday - she liked to stay ahead). And that was all assuming she didn’t bump into any witches during any of that. 

Tsuruno sighed.  _ The life of the mightiest magical girl sure was busy. _

“Tsuruno?” Her teacher - a kind, older lady- was sitting at her desk in the front. She must have been trying to get her attention for a while. Her eyebrows were knit in concern and Tsuruno shifted uncomfortably, guilt already settling in. “Class is over.”

“Oh!” Tsuruno managed a sheepish smile. “I was busy thinking about other things. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize,” her teacher said. There was a small pause and Tsuruno realized that she hadn’t moved. She began collecting her things. 

She was almost out of the door when her teacher spoke. 

“Are you feeling ok, Tsuruno?”

Tsuruno paused, turned, and gave her brightest smile. “I’m doing just fine! Thank you for asking, miss.”

Her teacher didn’t seem entirely convinced, but Tsuruno left before she could ask more. 

She appreciated the sentiment, but this was just something she dealt with sometimes. It was just a part of who she was. But she never let obstacles prevent her from being the best she could be. 

_ Mel always admired that about her.  _

Tsuruno froze in her tracks, stopping suddenly in the middle of the hall. 

_ Mel. _

She hadn’t thought about her since… well since it had happened. 

Just as quickly as it came to her, Tsuruno shook the thought away. 

_ She just had to be stronger _ . 

*********

When Tsuruno arrived at Felicia’s school, she had been expecting to see her young apprentice waiting impatiently. They usually met up at a certain time, and due to her spaciness, Tsuruno was late. 

But Felicia wasn’t there. 

Tsuruno decided to wait a little bit. Maybe she had cleanup duty and forgot to mention? Maybe she had to make up a test? Maybe a teacher had to talk to her about starting fights?

Tsuruno giggled at the thought of the last one. Yachiyo wouldn’t be too happy about that, but Tsuruno couldn’t fault Felicia. They were too similar.

Fifteen minutes passed and Felicia still wasn’t there. There were a few kids trickling out every once in a while but none of them were loud enough to be hers. Tsuruno leaned against the brick wall that surrounded the school and tapped her foot impatiently. 

Once Felicia showed up, maybe she could ask if they could go witch hunting. That would probably help her get rid of all her energy. 

But then again, they were expected at the restaurant. It would only harm Banbanzai and would also be irresponsible of her. As Felicia’s teacher, Tsuruno had to set a good example. Witch hunting could wait. 

Another fifteen minutes went by and Tsuruno decided to bring matters into her own hands. She dialed Felicia’s number on her phone. A few rings sounded out, followed by Felicia’s booming voice. Tsuruno perked up, then realized it was just the voicemail. 

She let out a huge sigh. Her phone rang and Tsuruno got excited again, only to realize that it wasn’t Felicia.

“Hi, Master,” Tsuruno answered, unable to keep the disappointment out of her voice. 

“Tsuruno !” Sana’s voice cried from the phone, surprising Tsuruno again.

“Oh, hi Sana !” Tsuruno tried to make herself sound more enthusiastic. She didn’t want the younger girl to think she was mad at her for anything. She’d been through enough.

“Umm, Yachiyo just wanted me to call -” Sana was interrupted by a startled cry. Tsuruno tensed. It was Yachiyo.

“What’s wrong? Did something happen?”

“Um, well, yes,” Sana said. There was more noise on her end. Sana shrieked and the phone call cut off. 

“ _ Shit. _ ”

This was not good. Her friends were in danger and Felicia was missing. Tsuruno checked her phone to see if Iroha or Ui had texted her recently, but there was nothing. She couldn’t tell if that was good or bad. She debated trying to call Sana back, but upon deciding that would just waste time, she transformed and started tracing Yachiyo’s magic.

She was supposed to have good luck, so why was everything going wrong today?

  
  


\-------

Blinded by her concern and the increasing twisting in her gut, it wasn’t until she was literally at the doorstep that Tsuruno realized she was headed towards Yachiyo’s house.

That should’ve reassured her, but fear still danced in her stomach. Were there rogue feathers threatening them? A new threat she wasn’t aware of?  _ (she didn’t like not being aware of things) _

Realizing she was hesitating, Tsuruno steeled herself and flung open the door. She was armed with her fans and felt them buzzing with her fire magic, ready to strike at a moment’s notice. 

She was prepared for utter chaos, and in a way, it’s what she found.

She saw Sana first. She was standing in the corner of the living room and looked startled. Tsuruno was about to ask what was happening when Felicia shot out of the kitchen. 

“Tsurunoooooo,” the girl whined, her voice scratchy. “Yachiyo’s making me eat vegetables.”

Felicia shrieked suddenly as Yachiyo came out of the kitchen, chasing after her. She went to hide behind Tsuruno, who was still processing everything.

“Felicia Mitsuki! You sit down this instant and eat the soup I made.” Yachiyo was  _ not _ having it today, apparently. Tsuruno made a mental note to keep it light when she talked to her. “Veggies will help you feel better.”

“I don’t wannaaaaaaa.” Felicia clung to Tsuruno. 

The older girl stiffened. “Felicia, you’re sick, aren’t you?” 

“No,” Felicia said, then sniffled. “Ok maybe.”

“Then let go of me!” Tsuruno pushed her away, with a playful grin. “You don’t want your big sis to get sick, do you?”

Felicia pouted, but after a moment of thought, she conceded. “Meanie.”

“Hey!” Tsuruno said, a bit indignant. “I wanna hang out with you, but I can’t until you get better. Neither can Ayame or Kako.” She tilted her head in mock-thought. “Sana , can you think of any way Felicia could get better so she can spend time with her friends?”

“She could… get some rest?” Sana offered. Yachiyo motioned subtly to the kitchen, catching her eye. “Oh! And um, eat her vegetables.”

“Perfect!” Tsuruno clapped. She turned to face Felicia. “So, if you wanna hang out, you gotta take care of yourself first.”

Felicia looked torn between her desire to spend time with Tsuruno and her distaste towards the food Yachiyo made, but it was soon clear that Tsuruno had won her over. 

“Fine.” She gave in. “I’ll eat the vegetables.”

“Yay!!” Tsuruno cheered. Yachiyo and Sana both sighed in relief. 

“But you have to promise to take me to the park to meet Kako and Ayame as soon as I get better!” 

“It’s a promise!” 

Tsuruno glanced over at Yachiyo as she herded Felicia into the kitchen and could’ve sworn she saw her mouth a thank you. 

Her heart fluttered a tiny bit.

  
  
  


\---------------

Tsuruno was sleepy. 

It had been a long day - prolonged by the fact that she had to take care of a two person shift by herself. Sana had offered to help, but Tsuruno didn’t want to trouble her. 

“Are you going back to Yachiyo’s for dinner?” Her dad asked as they were cleaning up. 

“Yep!” Tsuruno said, yawning widely. “Yachiyo’s gonna have to take care of Felicia, so I wanted to help her keep an eye on the other girls.”

“Alright, just be safe and don’t come home too late.”

“Aye, aye captain!”

Tsuruno left the restaurant in the highest spirits she had been in all day. The nagging in the pit of her stomach was still there, but she attributed it to hunger and ignored it.

\----------

Turns out, ignoring the bad feeling was…. a bad idea, to say the least.

She was halfway to the Mikazuki Villa, her head fuzzy and aching slightly, when she felt her soul gem flare up. 

_ A witch. _

Tsuruno had only a second to glance around to see if there were any magical girls nearby before the labyrinth appeared. She had fought countless witches before, but the sudden change in environment disoriented her and made her feel dizzy.

Unfortunately for her, the labyrinth entrance she had walked into opened directly into the witch’s lair. Seeing new witches was always an experience. She could feel her brain and eyes working hard to negotiate what it was she was seeing and what she was able to process. It made her head hurt even more.

But she steeled her nerves, called on her transformation, and fired up her magic. Tsuruno needed to end this as soon as possible so she could get to the villa, eat, and relax. 

She had been standing still for too long.

The witch launched itself at her and she was knocked back into the walls of the labyrinth. She was able to recover, but her headache had gone from a dull pain to throbbing. 

As she dodged attacks and familiars alike, the fear in her gut turned into adrenaline. Hoping this would be the final release that she needed to dispel the weird feeling that had followed her all day, Tsuruno called out her special move.

“Flame Waltz!!”

The witch screeched and reeled back, either dead or retreating. 

Tsuruno didn’t have time to figure out.

As soon as the last of her attack had been launched, she fell to her knees. Her head was pounding now and she bent over, clutching her stomach as bile rose in her throat. The only thought she was capable of forming was that it was pretty lucky that her stomach had already been empty before this. 

In her murky haze, amplified by the shaky transition from labyrinth to reality, she heard someone call her name. 

And then her vision went dark. 


End file.
